Bones Kitchen & Bar in Woodstock is all about unfussy good food

To find somewhere to eat in Woodstock isn’t hard. To find a comfortable restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner at affordable prices, and with unlimited secure parking, is something of a miracle. Bones Kitchen and Bar is that gem.

On the ground floor of The Palms Lifestyle Centre, it’s easily accessible and is already drawing regulars from all over town. Comfortably unpretentious and welcoming, Bones is all about unfussy good food.

Behind it is veteran restaurateur Rudi Minnaar, who, after selling Beluga, the last in a line of successful restaurants in 2007, found retirement less than enthralling. He saw a gap in Woodstock for a restaurant that was pitched just below the chef-driven restaurants but above the corporate chains.

“I thought, if I’m going to do this again I want to have as much fun as possible. In that fun aspect comes casualness with high standards, food that’s accessible, honest, simple, but has the same integrity of the raw product.”

He recruited two innovative and experienced young chefs, Brendon November and Bella McLeod, and put together an eclectic bistro-style menu that has something for just about everybody.

Although they include steaks on the menu, it’s not only about meat. The name, Bones, was inspired by the philosophy of cooking from scratch.

“For me the germ of all cooking sits in stock, you can’t cook without a decent stock. And good stock starts with bones,” explains Rudi.

We shared a gorgeous starter of gnocchi al gorgonzola — proper potato gnocchi, pan-fried and tossed in a luscious gorgonzola sauce topped with crunchy shreds of baked parmesan. Glorious comfort food without being cloying.

The cioppino is one to go back for— a mellow tomato-based fish stew full of perfectly cooked chunks of fish, calamari, prawns and mussels, on the side a bowl of mildly spiced aioli and generous slices of chartoasted sour-dough to mop up the sauce.

Kingklip with baby potatoes and peas was our other main dish, no frills, just good fresh fish simply cooked.

Then who could resist the lure of a chocolate torte? It came as a decadent deep slice of practically pure dark chocolate tart, lightened by berry sorbet and hazelnut crumble.

With an outside terrace, cosy bar and corner couches, Bones is quickly becoming everyone’s local at this end of Woodstock.

• Visit boneskitchenandbar.co.za

This article was originally published in the Sunday Times Neighbourhood: Property and Lifestyle guide. Visit Yourneighbourhood.co.za